Waveform encoding for wireless applications

ABSTRACT

Processing may be performed by a first device on behalf of a second device to offload processing from the second device. In some aspects a device from which processing has been offloaded may be advantageously adapted to consume less power, have a smaller size, and have less complexity. Offloaded processing may be employed to enable a first device to process data for transmission and then send the data to another device for processing. Offloaded processing may be employed to enable a first device to process data on behalf of a second device and then send the processed data to the second device. In some aspects the data may be waveform encoded for wireless transmission between the devices. Offloaded processing may be implemented in a static manner or in a dynamic manner.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119

This application claims the benefit of and priority to commonly ownedU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/793,114, filed Apr. 18, 2006,and assigned Attorney Docket No. 060349P1; U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/794,039, filed Apr. 20, 2006, and assigned AttorneyDocket No. 060033P1; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/795,436,filed Apr. 26, 2006, and assigned Attorney Docket No. 061073P1; U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/795,445, filed Apr. 26, 2006, andassigned Attorney Docket No. 061197P1; and U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/795,512, filed Apr. 26, 2006, and assigned AttorneyDocket No. 061004P1; the disclosure of each of which is herebyincorporated by reference herein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to concurrently filed and commonly ownedU.S. patent application entitled “OFFLOADED PROCESSING FOR WIRELESSAPPLICATIONS,” and assigned Attorney Docket No. 060349U1, the disclosureof which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

This application relates generally to wireless communication, and tooffloaded processing for wireless applications.

2. Background

Various types of devices including, for example, cell phones, computers,and associated peripherals may utilize wireless communication technologyto communicate with one another and with other devices. To facilitatesuch wireless communication, these devices perform various operationsassociated with the transmission and reception of data via one or morewireless communication links (e.g., a wireless network).

In a typical scenario a first device (e.g., a headset) may communicatevia a wireless communication link (e.g., Bluetooth) with a second device(e.g., a cell phone) to send data to and receive data from aremotely-located device (e.g., a communication device connected to theInternet). Here, the first device may include a transducer (e.g., amicrophone) or some other mechanism that generates data to be sent tothe remote device. In addition, the first device performs variousprocessing operations to facilitate transmitting the generated data tothe second device via the wireless communication link. For example, thefirst device may convert analog generated data to digital data, attemptto improve one or more characteristics of the data, compress the data,and encode the data for transmission to the second device via thewireless communication link.

The second device may then perform various operations to facilitatetransmission of the data to the remote device. For example, the seconddevice may decode the data from the format used for the wirelesscommunication link and then re-encode the data into an appropriatecommunication format for transmission over a network (e.g., a cellularnetwork) to the intended destination.

Complementary operations may be performed for data traveling in theopposite direction. For example, upon receipt of data destined for thefirst device, the second device may perform various operations such asdecoding data received via the network, decompressing the data asnecessary, and re-encoding the data for transmission via thecommunication link to the first device. The first device may thenperform operations such as decoding the received data and processing thedecoded data, as necessary. The first device may then convert thisdigital data to analog data and provide the analog data to anothertransducer (e.g., a speaker).

From the above it may be appreciated that different devices in thecommunication system may have different processing requirements and,hence, different processing capabilities. In some cases, however, theprocessing capabilities conventionally associated with a given devicemay hinder or otherwise negatively affect other desirable features ofthe device. For example, in some applications it is desirable for amobile device to be as small as possible and to consume as little poweras possible. In practice, however, meeting these design goals may bedifficult due to the processing requirements of the device.

SUMMARY

A summary of sample aspects of the disclosure follows. It should beunderstood that any reference to aspects herein may refer to one or moreaspects of the disclosure.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to offloading processing for awireless communication device. For example, processing conventionallyperformed by a first device may, instead, be performed by a seconddevice on behalf of the first device.

Offloaded processing may be employed to improve or otherwise alter oneor more attributes of a given device or system. In some aspectsoffloaded processing may be employed in the event the processing may bemore effectively performed by another device. For example, one class ofdevice may have more processing capabilities, more available power, or alarger footprint than another class of device. Consequently, a class ofdevice from which processing has been offloaded may be advantageouslyadapted to consume less power, have a smaller footprint, and have a lesscomplex design.

The disclosure relates in some aspects to offloading processing thatwould normally be performed on one device to another device, where thedevices are connected wirelessly. Here, the offloaded processing mayprove beneficial (e.g., according to some metric) for the overallsystem, even though an additional burden may be placed on one of thedevices. In some aspects offloaded processing may be utilized if thecost associated with performing the processing is higher that the costassociated with performing any transmission associated with theoffloading. For example, power savings may be realized at a device evenif additional power is required to send data (e.g., the data is in anuncompressed form, so more data is sent) as long as more power is savedby not having to perform the processing (e.g., data compression).

In some aspects offloaded processing may be employed to enable a firstdevice to process data for transmission and then wirelessly send thedata to another device for processing. For example, the first device maypreprocess an analog data (e.g., raw analog sensed data such as ananalog waveform) for transmission (e.g., in an analog or digital form)to the second device, while the second device processes the receiveddata to improve a least one characteristic represented by the analogdata. In this way, the second device may perform one or more processingoperations on behalf of the first device. For example, the second devicemay process the received data to improve at least one characteristicsuch as sound or imagery, or at least one characteristic such as anindication of heart rate, temperature, pressure, velocity, oracceleration. Here, processing such as equalization, echo cancellation,active noise reduction, filter and decimate operations, side-tonegeneration, filter tap generation, biological processing, ambientcondition processing, and voice command and recognition operations maybe performed at the second device rather than at the first device.

In some implementations the first device may waveform encode the analogoutput of a transducer and send the resulting data via a wireless linkto the second device. The second device may then process the receiveddata on behalf of the first device. Here, the waveform encoded data maycomprise digital data that represents the entire waveform (e.g., thewaveform encoded data is of a form that could be converted back to ananalog form to essentially reconstruct the waveform). In someimplementations the waveform encoded data comprises pulse code modulateddata or sigma delta modulated data. In some implementations the waveformencoded data may be preprocessed (e.g., encoded, packetized, and so on)for reliable transmission across the wireless link.

In some aspects offloaded processing may be employed whereby a firstdevice processes data on behalf of a second device and then sends theprocessed data to the second device. For example, the first device mayprocess received data and waveform encode the processed data fortransmission back to the second device. The second device may thenprocess the received waveform encoded data to provide a desired outputbased on the data. Here, the second device may pass the receivedwaveform encoded data directly to an output transducer.

In some aspects offloaded processing may be implemented in a staticmanner or in a dynamic manner. As an example of static offloadedprocessing, a first device may be adapted (e.g., implemented) to notprovide certain processing capabilities, while a second device may beadapted to provide those processing capabilities. In addition,provisions may be made to enable the second device to perform thecorresponding processing on behalf of the first device.

As an example of dynamic offloaded processing, both a first device and asecond device may be adapted to provide certain processing capabilities.In addition, the devices may be adapted to be configurable so that adynamic selection may be made as to which of the devices is to perform agiven processing operation. For example, one of the devices may send amessage to the other device to indicate which of the devices is toperform a given operation or operations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the disclosure willbe more fully understood when considered with respect to the followingdetailed description, appended claims and accompanying drawings,wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of acommunication system adapted to provide offloaded processing;

FIG. 2, including FIGS. 2A and 2B, depicts simplified block diagrams ofseveral additional sample aspects of apparatuses adapted to provideoffloaded processing;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to provide offloaded processing for received data;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to provide offloaded processing for data to be transmittedto another device;

FIG. 5 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects ofapparatuses adapted to provide offloaded processing for data to betransmitted;

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of adirect drive class-D circuit;

FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram of several sample waveforms that may beassociated with the circuit of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of several sample aspects of operations that maybe performed to provide offloaded processing for data received from adevice and then transmitted back to the device;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of several sample operations that may be performedto request offloaded processing;

FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects ofapparatuses adapted to provide offloaded processing for various sensingoperations;

FIG. 11 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects of acommunication system including an intermediary device to facilitateproviding offloaded processing;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of several sample operations that may beperformed to facilitate offloaded processing using an intermediarydevice;

FIG. 13 is a simplified block diagram of several sample aspects ofcommunication components; and

FIG. 14, including FIGS. 14A and 14B, depicts simplified block diagramsof several sample aspects of apparatuses adapted to provide offloadedprocessing.

In accordance with common practice the various features illustrated inthe drawings may not be drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions ofthe various features may be arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.In addition, some of the drawings may be simplified for clarity. Thus,the drawings may not depict all of the components of a given apparatus(e.g., device) or method. Finally, like reference numerals may be usedto denote like features throughout the specification and figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described below. It should beapparent that the teachings herein may be embodied in a wide variety offorms and that any specific structure, function, or both being disclosedherein is merely representative. Based on the teachings herein oneskilled in the art should appreciate that an aspect disclosed herein maybe implemented independently of any other aspects and that two or moreof these aspects may be combined in various ways. For example, anapparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using anynumber of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, such an apparatusmay be implemented or such a method may be practiced using otherstructure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition toor other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein. For example,in some aspects a method of processing data comprises receiving data,wherein the received data comprise analog data obtained and preprocessedby another device for wireless transmission, and processing the receiveddata to extract at least one characteristic represented by the analogdata. In addition, in some aspects a method of processing data alsocomprises transmitting the processed data to the other device.

FIG. 1 illustrates sample aspects of a communication system 100 where afirst wireless device 102 may communicate with a second wireless device104 via a wireless communication link 106. In some implementations thedevices 102 and 104 may comprise at least a portion of a wirelessnetwork. For example, the devices 102 and 104 may associate with oneanother, and optionally one or more other devices, to establish or joina body area network, a personal area network, or some other type ofnetwork.

In some aspects the devices 102 and 104 are adapted such that the device104 may perform processing on behalf of the wireless 102. For example,rather than performing a given processing operation at the device 102,the processing may be offloaded to the device 104. To this end, thedevices 102 and 104 include one or more processor components 108 and110, respectively, to perform operations to facilitate this offloadedprocessing. In addition, the devices 102 and 104 include transceivers112 and 114, respectively, for sending data between the devices 102 and104.

Offloaded processing may be employed in a variety of scenarios wheremultiple devices having different capabilities communicate with oneanother to support certain functionality. For example, a wireless bodyarea network may include one or more wireless medical sensors that aredistributed on a user's body. Each of these sensors may send sensed datato a central node such as a cell phone or a personal data assistant(“PDA”). Another example involves a wireless headset (e.g., an earpiece)that communicates with a cell phone, a music player, or some otherdevice. Yet another example is a tire pressure monitor that is locatedin a wheel of a car where the monitor sends pressure readings back to adashboard-mounted device via a wireless link. In these scenarios one ofthe devices (e.g., the sensors and headset) is generally of lowercomplexity and generally consumes less power than the other device(e.g., the cell phone or the dashboard-mounted device).

Typically, low complexity and low-power devices such as these generateraw data that need to be processed before being used. Examples of suchprocessing include echo cancellation at the headset to reduce theeffects of surrounding noise, equalization, data compression of aheartbeat waveform, and audio compression. In some cases, the processeddata are sent to another device for ultimate use. For example, audiodata generated by a headset may be compressed before it is transmittedto a remote device for playback. In other cases the processed data areultimately used at the low complexity, low-power device. For example,active noise reduction generates modified audio data that are playedback at the headset. Conventionally, the processing discussed above isperformed on the low complexity, low-power device.

By offloading processing from a low power, low complexity device to ahigher power, higher complexity device as taught herein, one or moreadvantages may be obtained in the overall system. For example, movingprocessing from a low power, low complexity device to a higher power,higher complexity device allows the low power, low complexity device tobe of even lower power and lower complexity. Consequently, such adevice, which may be sold in much greater numbers than the other device,may cost less to manufacture, may be smaller (e.g., through the usesmaller batteries and less circuitry) and hence more user friendly, andmay require less frequent recharges or battery replacements. Inaddition, economies of scale may exist when multiple devices aredeployed in a network. For example, in a scenario where an audio playermulticasts an audio stream to several headsets, performing the activenoise cancellation on the audio player reduces the complexity and thepower draw of multiple headsets while only increasing the complexity andpower consumption of a single device (i.e., the audio player).

In the example of FIG. 1, the device 102 includes one or more inputdevices 116 that generate waveform data that may need to be processed.In some implementations the data to be processed by the device 104comprise raw data. For example, the device 102 may not process the datafrom the input device 116 for any purpose other than for transmission tothe device 104. Thus, the device 102 may not process the data to improveany characteristic represented by the data. As a specific example, thedevice 102 may not process the data to improve an attribute such asfrequency response, signal-to-noise ratio, or accuracy of a multimediawaveform, a biological waveform, or an ambient waveform represented bythe data.

In some aspects the device 102 includes a preprocessor 118 that maypreprocess the data (e.g., the raw analog data) for transmission to thedevice 104. For example, the preprocessor 118 may perform waveformprocessing on the data. Such waveform processing may include, forexample, pulse code modulation encoding or sigma delta modulationencoding. Thus, the device 102 may transmit waveform data to the device104, as opposed to waveform data that has been further processed (e.g.,compressed, as may be transmitted in a conventional system).

The preprocessor 118 also may perform operations such as, error coding,scrambling, etc, to facilitate transmitting the data. A transmitter 120is then used to transmit the preprocessed data to a receiver 122 of thedevice 104.

After the device 104 receives the waveform data from the device 102, theprocessor 110 of the device 104 may process the waveform data on behalfof the device 102. For example, the processor 110 may process the datato improve one or more characteristics represented by the data (e.g., asdiscussed above).

In some aspects improving the at least one characteristic represented bythe data (e.g., the raw analog waveform data) may comprise extracting(e.g., by an extractor component 124) at least one characteristicrepresented by the data (e.g., the raw analog data) generated by thedevice 102. For example, extraction may involve extracting a voicesignal from the received data (representative of the raw sensed data),extracting a biological parameter (e.g., a heart beat waveform),extracting an ambient parameter (e.g., a pressure waveform), or someother similar operation. Advantageously this process may be performed ina manner that improves a characteristic represented by the data. Forexample, extraction may involve filtering, denoising, noisecancellation, or some other suitable technique.

In some aspects extraction may involve extracting an indication relatingto the received data (representative of the raw sensed data). Forexample, extraction may comprise extracting an indication of abiological parameter (e.g., a heart rate value), extracting anindication of an ambient parameter (e.g., a pressure value), or someother similar indication. Again, such a process may be performed in amanner that improves a characteristic represented by the data. Forexample, indications of a heart rate (e.g., as derived from multiplesensors that detect a heart beat waveform) may be averaged to provide animproved ultimate heart rate value. Similar operations may be performedfor other indications of a biological or ambient parameter. Improving acharacteristic also may comprise improving machine readability or humanreadability of values represented by the analog data. For example,extracting or computing an indication of heart rate (or some otherparameter) may improve the characteristic of machine readability orhuman readability of the analog data. Here, an indication of a heartrate (or some other parameter) may be obtained (e.g., extracted orcomputed) by converting pulses from a sensor to a numeric heart ratevalue (or some other type of value).

In conjunction with the extraction (or following the extraction) awaveform processor 136 may perform the desired waveform processing onthe extracted waveform data. For example, as will be discussed in moredetail below, such waveform processing may involve improving at leastone characteristic of the data by performing operations such asequalization, echo cancellation, active noise cancellation, filter tapcomputation, side-time processing, biological-related (e.g.,medical-related) processing, voice-command and recognition, andprocessing of ambient conditions.

The processing may thereby improve at least one attribute of acharacteristic. Such an attribute may relate to, for example, frequencyresponse, signal-to-noise ratio, or accuracy. In some aspects theextraction process may involve, for example, substantiallyreconstructing data representative of the waveform data (e.g., the rawdata) generated by the device 102.

In some aspects, the result of the extraction process may provide datathat have less degradation of the least one characteristic, as comparedto the data generated by the device 102 (e.g., the analog raw data). Forexample, there may be less noise in the extracted data relative to thecharacteristic represented by the data (e.g., an audio waveform) than inthe raw analog data. Similarly, the magnitude of anyinterference-related component in the extracted data may be less thanthe magnitude of such a component in the raw analog data. It should beappreciated that the processing performed here (e.g., relating to acharacteristic represented by the data) may be distinguishable fromprocessing that simply operates on the data (e.g., compressing ordecompressing the data).

A characteristic represented by the data may relate to various types ofdata (e.g., multimedia data, biological data, and ambient data) andvarious aspects of that data. For example, a characteristic representedby data may comprise audio, music, voice, speech, video, a heart beat,blood pressure, body temperature, oxygen concentration levels, glucoselevels, pressure, temperature, velocity, acceleration, or some otherevent or condition.

In addition, as mentioned above a characteristic represented by the datamay comprise an indication relating to one or more of the above eventsand conditions. For example, an audio-related characteristic maycomprise a noise level of the audio, an audio-related characteristic maycomprise a pleasantness of the audio to the human ear, a heartbeat-related characteristic may comprise a computed heart rate, apressure-related characteristic may comprise a computed blood pressurevalue, a temperature-related characteristic may comprise a computedtemperature value, an oxygen concentration-related characteristic maycomprise a computed value of oxygen concentration, a glucoselevel-related characteristic may comprise a computed glucose levelvalue, a temperature-related characteristic may comprise a computedtemperature value, a velocity-related characteristic may comprise acomputed velocity value, and an acceleration-related characteristic maycomprise a computed acceleration value.

Also as discussed above, in some aspects the offloaded processing mayimprove at least one of the characteristics represented by the data. Forexample, improving an audio-related characteristic may comprise reducingnoise in audio or improving pleasantness of the audio to the human ear(e.g., adding side-tones). Improving a biological related-characteristicmay comprise improving a calculation (e.g., improving the accuracy ofthe calculation) for determining a heart rate, blood pressure, etc.Improving an ambient-related characteristic may comprise improving acalculation (e.g., improving the accuracy of the calculation) fordetermining pressure, velocity, etc.

In some aspects the processor 110 may process the data to facilitatetransmission to the device 102 and, in some cases, to further reduce theprocessing required by the device 102. For example, a waveform encoder126 may provide processed data in a waveform encoded form such as pulsecode modulated data or sigma delta modulated data. This data may then betransmitted to the device 102 without any further processing (e.g.,compression) other than standard transmission-related processing. Thus,the device 104 also may transmit waveform data to the device 102, asopposed to processed data representative of the waveform. As will bediscussed below, in this case less processing may be performed at thedevice 102 since the device 102 will receive data in a form that may bereadily provided to an output device.

After the data is processed, the device 104 sends the data to theappropriate destination. For example, a local area network or wide areanetwork communication component 128 of the device 104 may send theprocessed data to another device via an appropriate communication link(e.g., to a wide area network such as a cellular network or to theInternet, not shown in FIG. 1).

As discussed above, the device 104 may send the processed data back tothe device 102. This may be the case, for example, in the event thedevice 102 is the ultimate user of the data or in the event the device102 is better suited to forward the processed data to the ultimatedestination. Here, the processor 110 may encode the data, as necessary,depending upon the transmission scheme used over the link 106 and thenprovide the encoded data to a transmitter 130.

A receiver 132 of the device 102 may then provide the received data tothe processor 108 for communication-related processing. For example, theprocessor 108 may decode the received data, as necessary, depending uponthe transmission scheme used over the link 106.

The processor 108 may further process the received data to provide thedata in a form suitable for output via one or more output devices 132.Advantageously, in the event the wireless device 104 provided the datain a waveform encoded format, relatively minimal processing may berequired here. For example, a waveform processor 134 may processreceived pulse code modulated data or sigma delta modulated data togenerate analog data or may process pulse code modulated data togenerate sigma delta modulated data that is provided to the outputdevice 132. Moreover, in some implementations sigma delta modulated datamay be provided directly to the output device 132.

To further illustrate how offloaded processing may be implemented, anexample of offloaded processing will be briefly discussed in the contextof an implementation where the device 104 comprises a wireless devicesuch as a cell phone or an entertainment device (e.g., an audio player)and the device 102 comprises a headset for the wireless device. In thisuse case, various types of processing may be offloaded from the headset102 to the device 104. For example, in some implementations it may bedesirable to provide echo cancellation or active noise cancellation forthe headset 102. Here, the input device 116 may comprise a microphonethat senses ambient sound. The headset 102 may thus transmit the rawsensed ambient sound data (e.g., a waveform) to the device 104 asdiscussed above.

The device 104 processes the raw sensed data in conjunction with otherinput data to provide, for example, the desired equalization, equalizertap weight computation, echo cancellation or active noise cancellation.In the case of an audio player, the other input data may comprise data(e.g., the audio waveforms) to be played out by the headset 102. Thisinput data may be generated by the device 104 or may be received fromanother device via the communication component 128.

The device 104 transmits the processed data (e.g., equalized data, tapweights, echo cancelled data, noise cancelled data) back to the headset102 or to some other destination. In the former scenario, the headset102 may then provide the received processed data to a speaker 132. Here,it should be appreciated that the operations discussed above may beperformed fast enough to provide effective echo cancellation, activenoise cancellation, or some other type of processing.

With the above overview in mind, additional details of a systemincorporating offloaded processing and associated operations will bediscussed in more detail in conjunction with FIGS. 2A, 3, and 4. FIG. 2Aillustrates sample components of a system 200 including a wirelessperipheral device 202 and a wireless device 204 that may, in one or moreaspects, be similar to the wireless device 102 and the wireless device104, respectively. FIG. 3 relates to operations that may be performed,for example, to transmit data from a device that generates sensed datato another device. FIG. 4 relates to operations that may be performed,for example, to transmit data from a device to another device thatoutputs the data. For convenience, the operations of FIGS. 3 and 4 (orany other operations discussed or taught herein) may be described asbeing performed by specific components (e.g., the system 200). It shouldbe appreciated, however, that these operations may be performed by othertypes of components and may be performed using a different number ofcomponents. It also should be appreciated that one or more of theoperations described herein may not be employed in a givenimplementation.

FIG. 2A describes an example where the device 202 is a peripheral deviceof the wireless device 204. For example, the wireless device 204 maycomprise a wireless station that is in communication with one or moreother devices (e.g., a wireless access point). In some implementationsthe wireless device 204 may comprise a cell phone. In this case, theperipheral device 202 may comprise, for example, a peripheral such as aheadset, a watch, medical device, or some other suitable device. Itshould be appreciated that the teachings herein may be implemented in avariety of ways other than those specifically described herein. Hence,in other implementations the device 202 may not be a peripheral device.

FIG. 2A also describes an example where the devices 202 and 204communicate via air interfaces for a body area network or a personalarea network. It should be appreciated however, that the devices 202 and204 may communicate using other types of communication links.

Referring now to FIG. 3, in some aspects offloaded processing may relateto a scenario where one device receives data from another device andthen processes the data on behalf of that other device. As representedby block 302, an input transducer 206 (e.g., a sensor) of the device 202in FIG. 2A generates data that correspond to the transducer type. Forexample, in some implementations the transducer 206 may be adapted tosense a multimedia characteristic such as an audible characteristic(e.g., sound, audio, voice, or music), a visual characteristic (e.g.,still imagery such as a picture or moving imagery such as video), orsome combination of two or more of these characteristics, to generatemultimedia data. In some implementations the transducer 206 may beadapted to sense a biological-related characteristic such as aheartbeat, blood pressure, body temperature, oxygen concentrationlevels, glucose levels, and so on. In some implementations thetransducer 206 may be adapted to sense an ambient-related characteristicsuch as pressure, temperature, velocity, acceleration, and so on.

In some aspects sensed data generated by the transducer 206 is in theform of analog data. Such analog data may represent, for example, acontinuous waveform (e.g., audio data), a non-continuous waveform (e.g.,a heartbeat), or information that is more discrete in nature (e.g.,pressure, velocity, etc.).

As represented by block 306, the device 202 preprocesses the sensed datafor transmission. As discussed above, in some implementations thepreprocessing may involve waveform encoding the sensed data (e.g., theraw analog data output by the transducer 206). Here, a waveform encoder210 may perform operations such as sigma delta modulation encoding,pulse code modulation encoding, or some others suitable form of waveformencoding. By converting the analog data to digital form, the rawwaveform data may be readily transmitted over a communication link thatutilizes digital transmission.

Here, it should be appreciated that the data may be sent over thecommunication link at a relatively high data rate. For example, ratherthan sending compressed data to the device 204, the data may be sent ina full pulse code modulated form or in an oversampled form (e.g., sigmadelta modulated data). Thus, in contrast with conventional techniquesthat compress the data before sending it over a communication link(e.g., using sub-band coding in conjunction with Bluetooth, MP3, orstereo encoding) and decompress received data, less processing may beinvolved with the disclosed approach. For example, for transmission, aconventional technique may convert sigma delta modulated data to pulsecode modulated data and may compress pulse code modulated data beforetransmitting the data. Conversely, the receive side may involvedecompressing data to provide pulse code modulated data or convertingpulse code modulated data to signal delta modulated data.

Although the disclosed approach may require more wireless bandwidth thanapproaches that use compression, a favorable tradeoff may be achievedparticularly in applications that use a relatively high bandwidthcommunication channel, that are able to transmit data more efficiently,or both. This may be the case, for example, in applications that employultra-wideband communication (e.g., impulse-based ultra-wideband).

The use of sigma delta modulation also may facilitate more reliabletransmission of data over the wireless link. For example, given thatevery bit in a sigma delta modulated signal is, in effect, a leastsignificant bit, a loss of a given bit during transmission may not havea significant effect on the recovered data. In contrast, in schemes thatsend full pulse code modulated data (e.g., 16 bit PCM) over a link, aloss of any of the more significant bits may have a significant negativeimpact on the recovered data.

The device 202 also may preprocess the sensed data to facilitatereliable transmission over the communication link. For example, atransmission preprocessing component 211 may provide channel coding,error coding, scrambling, interleaving, formatting, or other similarsignal processing.

As represented by blocks 308 and 310, a transmitter 212 transmits thepreprocessed data via a wireless communication link to a receiver 214 ofthe device 204. The device 204 may then perform processing complementaryto some of the preprocessing performed at block 306 to recover thewaveform encoded data generated at block 306. For example, one or moreprocessors 216 of the device 204 may perform channel decoding, errordecoding, descrambling, deinterleaving, deformatting, or other similaroperations.

As represented by block 312, the processor 216 of the device 204 maythen process the received data on behalf of the device 202. To this end,the processor 216 may extract at least one characteristic represented bythe sensed analog data. As discussed above, this may involvesubstantially reconstructing the original analog data from the receiveddata (e.g., generating data representative of the original waveform,plus quantization noise). For example, the processor 216 may derivesigma delta modulated data, pulse code modulated data, or analog datathat will then be further processed on behalf of the device 202.

The processing of block 312 may take various forms depend upon therequirements of a particular application. In some implementations (e.g.,where the waveform data comprise audio data) an equalizer 218 mayequalize the received data (e.g., to improve the frequency response ofthe audio waveform). Thus, in this case, the equalization components andthe power consumption associated with the equalization processing may beoffloaded from the device 202 to the device 204. It should beappreciated that the processing may be offloaded in various ways. Asdiscussed below, in some implementations only a portion of theprocessing may be offloaded. For example, the device 202 may perform theequalization filtering while computation of tap weights may be offloadedto the device 204.

In implementations where the waveform encoding of block 210 was sigmadelta encoding, a filter and decimator 220 may process the sigma deltamodulation data to, for example, complete the analog-to-digitalconversion process. That is, the filter and decimator 220 may generatepulse code modulation data from the sigma delta modulation data. Thisconfiguration may thus reduce the number of components and the powerconsumption of the device 202 by performing these operations on thedevice 204.

FIG. 2A illustrates several other processing components that may performprocessing on behalf of the device 202. For example a filter tapcomputation component 238 may compute equalizer filter taps for thedevice 202. In this case, the data the device 202 transmits to thedevice 204 may comprise information to be utilized for the tap weightcomputation. After performing the necessary processing, the component238 may then send the computed tap weights back to the device 202.

In some implementations a side-tone processing component 240 may addside-tone information to information destined for the device 202. Inthis case, the device 202 may send audio (e.g., voice) from a microphoneto the device 204. The component 240 may then add this information(e.g., reduced by 10 dB) to audio (e.g., voice traffic) being sent tothe device 202 for playback on a speaker.

In some implementations a biological processing component 242 mayperform biological-related processing for the device 202. For example,the component 242 may receive sensor data (e.g., heart beat information)from the device 202 (e.g., a medical device) and process the data and,in some cases provide feedback to the device 202 or to some other devicebased on the sensor data. In some implementations the component 242 maydetect EKG anomalies and exceptions and then cause one or both of thedevice 202 and 204 (or some other device) to change a mode of operation.

In some implementations a voice command and recognition component 244may perform voice recognition-related processing for the device 202. Forexample, the device may send sensor data (e.g., from a microphone) tothe device 204. The component 244 may then perform voice and commandrecognition processing on the sensor data and send the results (e.g., anindex value representative of the command) back to the device 202.

As will be discussed in more detail below, the processor 216 may includeother components for performing offloaded operations. These operationsmay relate to, for example, echo cancellation, active noisecancellation, processing of biological-related data, and processing ofambient-related data.

As represented by block 314, the device 204 may perform other processingdepending upon the requirements of a given implementation. For example,in some implementations the processed data from block 312 may betransmitted to some other device. Accordingly, the processed data may beformatted as necessary (e.g., by a communication processor 222) fortransmission via an appropriate communication link (not shown in FIG.2A) such as, for example, a wide area network (block 316).

Referring now to FIG. 4, in some aspects offloaded processing may relateto a scenario where one device processes data on behalf of anotherdevice before sending the processed data to the other device. Asrepresented by block 402, data destined for the device 202 may begenerated at the device 204 or received at the device 204. As an exampleof the former scenario, the device 204 may comprise an entertainmentdevice (e.g., a music player) that generates audio data to be played outby the device 202. As an example of the latter scenario, the device 204may comprise a wireless station (e.g., a cell phone) that receives voicedata to be played out by the device 202.

As represented by block 404, the processor 204 may process the receiveddata. For example, the communication processor 222 may perform variousdecoding operations to recover data transmitted via a wide area networkor in some other manner. In addition, as will be discussed in moredetail below, the wireless device 204 may decompress the received orgenerated data in the event the data was previously compressed.

As represented by block 406, the processor 216 may then process the dataon behalf of the device 202. Again, the processor 216 may improve atleast one attribute associated with at least one characteristicrepresented by the data. For example, in a similar manner as discussedabove, the equalizer 218 may equalize data destined for the device 202.Also, as will be discussed in more detail in conjunction with FIG. 8below, the processor 216 may process data generated or received by thewireless device 204 in conjunction with data received from the device202 to provide data to be sent back to the device 202.

As discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 1, the processor 216 maywaveform encode data destined for the device 202 to enable the device202 to more efficiently output the data. Again, rather than sendingcompressed data to the device 202, the data may be sent in a full pulsecode modulated form or in an oversampled form (e.g., sigma deltamodulated data) so that the device 202 need not decompress the receiveddata. Moreover, as will be discussed in more detail below in conjunctionwith FIGS. 5-7, an additional advantage may be achieved in someapplications by transmitting sigma delta modulated data over thewireless link.

As represented by blocks 408 and 410, a transmitter 224 of the device204 transmits the processed data via a wireless link to a receiver 226of the device 202. In a similar manner as discussed above, the devices204 and 202 may perform various operations (e.g., relating to channelcoding/decoding, etc.) to facilitate transmitting and receiving the datavia the wireless link.

The device 202 may optionally waveform decode the received data. Forexample, in the event the processor 216 generated waveform encoded data,a waveform decoder 228 may perform waveform decoding operations toconvert the waveform data into analog data or sigma delta modulateddata.

As represented by block 412, in some implementations processing of thereceived waveform encoded data (e.g., sigma delta modulated data) maysimply involve the receiver 226 directly passing the waveform data to anoutput transducer 232 (e.g., to a buffer for the transducer 232). Inthis case, the device 202 may not perform any non-transmission relatedprocessing of the received data. Such an implementation will bediscussed in more detail below in conjunction with FIGS. 6 and 7.

In any event, as represented by block 414, data in the appropriateformat are provided to the transducer 232 that outputs the data in theappropriate manner. For example, a speaker may be used to output someform of audio data.

Offloaded processing may be implemented in a variety of ways and used tosupport various functionality. In some implementations one or both ofthe devices 202 and 204 may optionally provide additional processing. Insome implementations only a portion of the processing that wouldotherwise be performed by the device 202 may be offloaded to the device203. In some implementations a decision as with whether to offloadprocessing may be made in a dynamic manner. FIG. 2B illustrates a system200B with devices 202B and 204B that include several components that maybe used in implementations such as these. In general, the components ofFIG. 2B that have the same or similar reference designations ascomponents of FIG. 2A may have the same or similar functionality aswell.

As discussed above, in some implementations all non-transmission relatedprocessing of the sensed data may be offloaded to the wireless device204. However, in some implementations some processing may still beperformed by the device 202. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2B in someaspects the device 202B may optionally include a processor 208 forprocessing the sensed data.

Also as discussed above, in some implementations all non-transmissionrelated processing of the sensed data being sent to the device 202 maybe offloaded to the wireless device 204. However, in someimplementations some processing may still be performed by the peripheraldevice. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 2B in some aspects the device 202Bmay optionally include a processor 230 for processing the received data.

In some implementations the device 202B may perform some processing andoffload other processing onto device 204B. For example, the device 202B(e.g. a headset) may have processing capabilities (e.g., provided byprocessor 230) relating to one or more of MP3 decompression, echocancellation, and side-tone generation. As represented by line 246, theprocessor 230 may receive information for some of this processing (e.g.,the side-tone generation) from the input transducer 206. In addition,the device 204B (e.g., a cell phone) may include processing capabilitiesto provide one or more of these operations. For example, one or moreprocessors 216B may include an MP3 decompressor 248, a side-toneprocessor 250, or an echo canceller 234. Hence, depending on therequirements of a given application, the devices 202B and 204B may beconfigured so that the device 204B receives sensor data from the device202B to perform one or more of the operations to be offloaded from thedevice 202B.

In some implementations processing may be offloaded in a dynamic manner.For example, the device 202B may detect that the device 204B has thecapability to perform the same types of operations that the device 202Bmay perform (e.g., MP3 decompression, etc.). Consequently, the device202B may shut down its circuits or disable its functionality and use theprocessing of the device 204B as long as the device 202B iscommunicating with the device 204B. Thus, when operating on its own, thedevice 202B may provide its own processing (e.g., streaming MP3 musicfrom a FLASH dongle without MP3 decompression capability). In addition,if the charge on the battery of the device 204B drops below a criticalpoint, the device 204B may stop providing offloaded processing (e.g.,decompressing MP3 data), and may instead send unprocessed data (e.g.,compressed MP3 data) to the device 202B, whereby the device 202B willperform the processing. In another use case, the device 202B (e.g., aheart rate monitor sensor) may initially send processed sensor data(e.g., a measured heart rate) to a second device that does not haveoffloading-related processing capabilities (e.g., the device may be awatch that simply displays the information). Then, at some other time,the device 202B may send the unprocessed sensor data (e.g., a heart beatwaveform) to another device 204B (e.g., a cell phone) that does have theappropriate processing capabilities (e.g., heart rate detection).

The wireless device 204 of FIG. 2A may perform various types ofoperations on behalf of the wireless device 202. FIG. 5 illustratessample components in an implementation where a wireless device 502(e.g., that may be similar to the device 204) may provide some or all ofthe signal processing that needs to be performed on data to be output bya wireless device 504 (e.g., that may be similar to the device 202).Here, the device 502 may send the processed data to the device 504 inthe form of waveform data. Consequently, the device 504 may simplyprovide the received waveform data to an appropriate output device suchas a transducer.

In a similar manner as above, the device 502 may include a communicationprocessor 506 that may, for example, receive data via a local areanetwork, a wide area network, or some other communication link. Thecommunication processor 506 may process (e.g., decode) the receiveddata, as necessary, to extract data that are destined for the device504.

The resulting data are provided to a data processor 508 that may processthe data on behalf of the device 504. The data processor 508 maycomprise a data decompressor 510 that decompresses the data in the eventthe data were previously compressed. In addition, the data processor 508may comprise a processor 512 that may provide signal processingfunctionality such as, for example, decoding. In some aspects the signalprocessing also may attempt to improve at least one characteristicrepresented by the data as taught herein.

In some aspects the processor 512 may provide waveform processingfunctionality to generate waveform encoded data. For example, in asimilar manner as discussed above, the processor 512 may generate pulsecode modulated data, sigma delta modulated data, or some other form ofwaveform encoded data.

A transmitter 514 may then transmit the processed data via anappropriate communication link 516 to the device 504. As discussedabove, the data may be transmitted in a substantially unprocessed form.For example, the transmitter 514 may transmit waveform encoded data thathave not been compressed.

At the device 504, a receiver 518 processes the data received via thelink 516 (e.g., in a similar manner as discussed above). In animplementation where the device 502 provides waveform encoded data, thereceiver 518 may output the raw waveform encoded data. A waveformprocessor 520 may then process the received waveform encoded data, asnecessary, and provide that data to an appropriate transducer 522 (e.g.,a speaker).

In some aspects waveform processing may be advantageously employed toreduce the amount of processing required and the power consumed by thedevice 504. For example, the waveform processor 520 and the transducer522 may comprise a general amplifier, a class-D amplifier, or a directdrive class-D amplifier. Alternatively, in some implementations signaldelta data may be passed unprocessed to a general class-D amplifier. Oneimplementation of a direct drive class-D amplifier circuit will bediscussed in more detail conjunction with FIGS. 6 and 7.

FIG. 6 illustrates sample aspects of an output transducer circuit 600that may be directly driven by received waveform data 602 (e.g., sigmadelta modulated data). Here, the output transducer circuit 600 comprisesa direct drive class-D controller 604 that generates control signals606A and 606B for controlling a pair of switches 608A and 608B (e.g.,transistors) that, in turn, drive an output transducer 610 (e.g., via alow pass filter 612, if necessary). In some aspects the direct driveclass-D controller 604 may generate the control signals 606A and 606Bbased on differences in durations associated with different levels ofthe waveform data 602. For example, referring to FIG. 7, the generationtimes and the widths of the control signals Q1 and Q2 (e.g., controlsignals 606A and 606B) may be based on differences between the widths ofsuccessive levels of one and zeros in the sigma delta modulated waveformdata S (e.g., waveform data 602). Thus, the received waveform data 602may directly drive the transducer 610 without being subjected toprocessing such as signal processing that attempts to improve acharacteristic represented by the data or processing that converts thewaveform data to analog data. By eliminating this signal processing, awireless device (e.g., the device 504) may consume less power than aconventional device that does perform such signal processing.

Referring again to FIGS. 6 and 7, additional details of the generationof the control signals 606A and 606B will now be treated. In someimplementations the control signals Q1 and Q2 may be generated atintervals associated with sets of successive high-level portions (e.g.,having a value of “1”) and low-level portions (e.g., having a value of“0”) of the waveform data S. The time periods represented by lines W0,W2, and W4 define one example of such sets of successive high-level andlow-level portions. The time period W0 includes time periods P0 and P1where the waveform data S consist of five consecutive high-level pulsesfollowed by three consecutive low-level pulses, respectively. Similarly,the time period W2 includes time periods P2 and P3 where the waveformdata S consist of four consecutive high-level pulses and fiveconsecutive low-level pulses, respectively. In addition, the time periodW4 includes time periods P4 and P5 where the waveform data S consist ofseven consecutive high-level pulses and three consecutive low-levelpulses, respectively.

In the example of FIG. 7, the control signals Q1 and Q2 are generatedbased on the pulses of time periods W0, W2, and W4. In particular, anegative-going pulse may be generated for signal Q1 in the event thenumber of high-level pulses of a given time period (e.g., time periodW0) is greater than the number of low-level pulses of that time period.Conversely, a positive-going pulse may be generated for signal Q2 in theevent the number of high-level pulses of a given time period is lessthan the number of low-level pulses of that time period. Thus, in theexample of FIG. 7, a pulse is generated on signal Q1 after the timeperiods W0 and W4 while a pulse is generated on signal Q2 after timeperiod W2.

In some aspects the widths of the control pulses Q1 and Q2 are based onpulses of the time periods W0, W2, and W4. For example, the width of acontrol signal may be based on the difference between the number ofhigh-level pulses and low-level pulses within a given time period. Thus,in the example of FIG. 7, the first pulse of control signal Q1 has awidth of two pulses because the time period P0 had five high-levelpulses and the time period P1 had three low-level pulses. Similarly, thepulse of control signal Q1 following the time period W2 has a width ofone pulse because the time period P2 had four high-level pulses and thetime period P3 had five low-level pulses.

The above implementation advantageously provides a class-D type outputthat utilizes tri-state control signals. For example, in the event thedurations of successive levels of the waveform data are equal (e.g.,representative of silence in an audio signal), both control signals willbe off. Thus, the control signals may have a state that turns one switchon, another state that turns the other switch on, and yet another statethat does not turn either of the switches on. Through the use of such atri-state technique, the power consumption of the circuit 600 may besubstantially proportional to the volume and activity level of, forexample, an audio signal represented by the waveform data 602.

It should be appreciated that the control signals Q1 and Q2 may begenerated based on other timing relationships. For example, in someimplementations the control signals Q1 and Q2 may be generated based onthe sets of pulses associated with time periods W1, W3, W5, and so on.In addition, in some applications the control signals Q1 and Q2 may begenerated based on the even time windows (W0, W2, W4, etc.) and the oddtime windows (W1, W3, W5, etc.), thereby doubling the number of pulsesoutput on Q1 and Q2. Here, collisions between active Q1 and Q2 pulsesmay be more frequent; consequently, provisions may be made to ensurethat the switches are not turned on simultaneously.

A direct drive class-D amplifier circuit or some other similar circuitthat provides functionality similar to that discussed above may beimplemented in a variety of ways. For example, in some implementationsthe controller 604 may comprise a pulse counter 614 that counts thenumber of pulses associated with each level of the waveform data 602.The resulting count may then be sent to a control pulse generator 616that generates the control signals 606A and 606B as discussed above. Insome implementations an up/down counter may be used to determine thedifference in the number of ones and zeros in successive levels of thewaveform data 602. In this case, the resulting count value may be passedto another counter that down counts to output a pulse of an appropriatewidth to thereby generate the control signals 606A and 606B. In someaspects the output stage (e.g., including the switches 608A and 608B andthe transducer 610) may instead comprise an H-bridge including twoswitch pairs where each switch pair is coupled to a unique one of thetwo input terminals of the transducer 610.

As discussed above, in some implementations the waveform data maycomprise multi-bit pulse code modulated data. In this case, thecontroller 604 may comprise a sigma delta modulation encoder thatconverts pulse code modulated data into sigma delta modulated data(e.g., the waveform data S of FIG. 7).

The teachings herein may be employed with other types of pulse widthmodulation schemes. For example, the circuit 600 may be adapted toprocess waveform data that take more of an analog form (e.g., data thatare not quantized in time). Hence, the controller 604 may be adapted togenerate the control signals 606A and 606B based on the pulse width ofthe waveform data 602 rather than pulse counts (e.g., “1s” and “0s”).

The waveform data may represent any of various types of information. Forexample, the waveform data may represent audio signals, various forms ofsensed signals, RF signals, or some other suitable information (e.g., asdiscussed above).

Referring now to FIG. 8, in some aspects offloaded processing may relateto a scenario where one device receives data from another device,processes that data on behalf of the other device, and then sends theprocessed data back to the other device. Blocks 802, 806, and 808 ofFIG. 8 represent operations that may be performed by device such as thewireless device 202 of FIG. 2A. In some implementations the operationsof blocks 802, 806, and 808 may be similar to the operations of blocks302, 306, and 308 discussed above. Thus, the device 202 may generate orotherwise obtain data, and send the data to another device (e.g., thedevice 204) for processing. In addition, the device 202 may utilizewaveform processing to preprocess the generated data for transmission.

Here, the data sent to the device 204 may be used to generate data thatwill be sent back to the device 202. For example, in implementationsthat incorporate echo cancellation the data from a microphone (e.g., aheadset microphone) may comprise the raw data that is sent to the device204 for use in echo cancellation operations. Similarly, inimplementations that incorporate active noise cancellation the data fromanother microphone (e.g., a microphone it senses ambient sound) may besent to the device 204 to be used in active noise cancellationoperations.

Blocks 810, 812, 814, and 816 of FIG. 8 represent operations that may beperformed by a device such as the wireless device 204 of FIG. 2A. Insome implementations the operations of blocks 810 and 814 may be similarto one or more of the operations of blocks 310, 312, and 314 discussedabove. Thus, the device 204 may process the data received from thedevice 202. In addition, in some implementations the operations ofblocks 812 and 814 may be similar to one or more of the operations ofblocks 402, 404, and 406 discussed above. Thus, the device 204 mayprocess data destined for the device 202.

In either case, the device 204 may process the data it receives onbehalf of the device 202. In addition, the device 204 may perform otherprocessing, as necessary, as discussed herein.

In some implementations an echo canceller 234 of the processor 216 mayperform echo cancellation operations on behalf of the device 202. Tothis end, the echo canceller 234 may process data received from thedevice 202 as well as data being transmitted to the device 202 to reduceany echo components that may be present in the data.

In some implementations an active noise canceller 236 of the processor216 may perform active noise cancellation operations on behalf of thedevice 202. To this end, the active noise canceller may process data tobe output by a transducer (e.g., a headset speaker) of the device 202 aswell as data generated by an input transducer 206 (e.g., an ambientmicrophone) of the device 202. In this way, the active noise canceller236 may add a signal component to the data being sent to the device 202that will cancel out ambient noise that may otherwise be heard by theuser of the device 202.

It should be appreciated that the above are but a few examples ofoperations the device 204 may perform on behalf of the device 202, andthat other operations may be employed in accordance with the teachingsherein. After the device 204 completes the processing of the data, thedevice 204 may send the processed data back to the wireless device 202via the wireless link (block 816). As discussed above, in someimplementations the device 204 may send the waveform encoded data to thedevice 202 to enable the device 202 to efficiently output the desireddata.

Blocks 818 and 822 again represent operations that may be performed by adevice such as the wireless device 202. In some implementations theoperations of blocks 818 and 822 may be similar to the operations ofblocks 410, 412, and 414 discussed above. Thus, the device 202 mayprocess the received data as necessary, and output the data via theoutput device 232.

As mentioned above, offloaded processing may be implemented in a staticmanner or in a dynamic manner. Here, a decision as to whether toimplement or invoke offloaded processing may be based on one or more ofa variety of factors. For example, processing may be offloaded to a“more capable” device that has more processing resources. Suchprocessing resources may include a larger capacity battery, moreprocessing capability (e.g., a faster processor), more efficientprocessing, and so on. In addition, processing may be offloaded (e.g.,at design time) based on criteria such as a desire to keep the cost of adevice as low as possible, to reduce the complexity of a device, or toreduce the size of a device (e.g., by reducing the size of the batteryand the integrated circuit die). In some aspects processing may beoffloaded based on defined classes of devices. For example, the classesmay be associated with different processing resources, different pricetargets, different complexity, and difference sizes. Here, differenttypes of processing may be offloaded to different classes of devices.

In some aspects devices may be dynamically configured, as necessary, toprovide offloaded processing. Here, the dynamic offloaded processing maybe invoked by operation of one or both the devices involved in theoffloaded operation or by some other device. In addition, dynamicoffloaded processing may be evoked based on one or more criteriaincluding, for example, a defined class of a given device, thecapabilities of a given device, the processing load of a given device,the power consumption or power reserves of a given device, or some othersuitable criterion. In some aspects these criteria may be temporallybased. For example, a decision as to whether and how to invoke offloadedprocessing may be based on prior conditions, current conditions, orfuture (e.g., anticipated) conditions.

FIG. 9 illustrates sample operations of an implementation where aperipheral device requests another device to perform processing on itsbehalf. As represented by blocks 902 and 904, one or more of the devicesmay determine the capabilities of the other device. In someimplementations the devices may communicate with one another to learnthe capabilities of a device (e.g., when the devices associate with oneanother). Alternatively, in some implementations the capabilities ofcertain types of devices may be provided (e.g., programmed into) adevice at some other time (e.g., during manufacture or when a device isinitially brought into service).

As represented by block 906, once the peripheral device learns thecapabilities of the wireless device, the peripheral device may send amessage to the wireless device requesting that the wireless deviceperform one or more operations at some point in the future. In the eventthe wireless device agrees to do the requested processing, the wirelessdevice may acknowledge the request from the peripheral device (block908). Here, a message from one or both the devices may identify whichparticular operations are to be offloaded and how those operations maybe invoked (e.g., the form of a subsequent request).

As represented by block 910, at some later point in time the peripheraldevice transmits data to the wireless device. As represented by block912, the wireless device then processes the data on behalf of theperipheral device. This processing may take the form of, for example,the offloaded processing discussed above or as otherwise taught herein.

As represented by block 914, the wireless device then transmits theprocessed data to the appropriate recipient. As discussed above, thewireless device may transmit the processed data back to the peripheraldevice (block 916) or to some other device (block 918).

The teachings herein may be employed to offload processing for widevariety of operations. For example, FIG. 10 illustrates samplecomponents of a system 1000 adapted to process data that may be sensedfrom one or more of a variety of sensors.

A peripheral device 1002 includes one or more sensors 1004 for sensingone or more conditions such as ambient conditions (e.g., temperature) orbiological conditions (e.g., heart rate, temperature, blood pressure,etc.). The sensor(s) 1004 may take various forms including a chemicaltransducer, and electrical transducer, a mechanical transducer, amagnetic transducer, a nuclear transducer, or an optical transducer. Forexample, a chemical transducer may be used to acquire glucose levelinformation from a person. An electrical transducer may be used todetect a person's heartbeat. A mechanical transducer may be used toacquire temperature, pressure, velocity, or acceleration information. Anoptical transducer may be used to acquire oximetry information. Anuclear transducer may be used to measure radiation types and levels. Inaddition, the peripheral device 1002 may be carried at an appropriatelocation on a person's body or located at an appropriate location (e.g.,within a vehicle) to sense one or more of these conditions.

The acquired sensor data may be passed as analog or digital waveformsfor processing to another wireless device. Thus, as discussed above, thedevice 1002 may include a waveform encoder 1006 for processing thesensed data for transmission and a transmitter 1008 for transmitting thedata to another wireless device 1010.

The wireless device 1010 includes a receiver 1012, a processor 1014, anda communication processor 1016 in a similar manner as discussed above.Here, the processor 1014 may comprise one or more components forprocessing the sensed data on behalf of the device 1002. For example, aheart rate component 1018 may process sensed EKG data to generate anindication of the current rate of a person's heartbeat. A heart rateclassifier 1020 may process the heartbeat rate information to classifythe heart rate. A temperature component 1022 may process sensedtemperature data (e.g., representative of ambient temperature or bodytemperature) to generate an indication of a measured temperature. Apressure component 1024 may process sensed pressure data (e.g.,representative of a person's blood pressure, ambient pressure, tirepressure, etc.) to generate an indication of pressure. A velocitycomponent 1026 may process sensed velocity data to generate anindication of velocity (e.g., of a person or some other moving object).An acceleration component 1028 may process sensed acceleration data togenerate an indication of acceleration (e.g., of a person or some othermoving object). A blood analysis component 1030 may process sensedchemical data or oximetry data to generate an indication of a person'sglucose level or oxygen concentration level, respectively. Thecorresponding indication generated by the processor 1014 may then besent to an appropriate device such as, for example, an output device(e.g., a display device) of the device 1010 or to another device via thecommunication processor 1016.

In some aspects one or more wireless sensing devices may be deployed forsensing, for example, ambient or biological conditions whereby thesensing devices communicate with one or more other wireless devices viaa body area network, a personal area network, or in some other manner.For example, referring to the system 1100 of FIG. 11, a sensing device1102 may send sensed data to a wireless device 1104 either directly orvia another wireless device such as an intermediary device 1106. Sampleoperations that may be performed by the components of the system 1100will be discussed in conjunction with the flowchart of FIG. 12.

As represented by block 1202 in FIG. 12, the sensing device 1102includes one or more sensors 1108 for sensing various conditions asdiscussed or taught herein. As represented by block 1204, the sensor(s)1108 may generate analog sensed data (e.g. captured waveforms) on acontinual or repetitive basis. As mentioned above, in a typicalimplementation the sensed data comprise raw (e.g., unprocessed) analogdata.

In some implementations the sensing device 1102 may simply pass thesensed data to another device for processing. As discussed herein, thesensed data may be passed as an analog waveform or as a digitalwaveform. Accordingly, as represented by block 1206 in some aspects thesensing device 1102 may comprise a waveform encoder 1110 (e.g., a sigmadelta encoder) for processing the sensed data for transmission.

As represented by block 1208, the sensing device 1102 includes atransmitter 1112 for transmitting the data to another wireless devicevia a wireless communication link. As mentioned above, in someimplementations the sensing device 1102 may transmit the sensed data tothe wireless device 1104 in a direct manner or, as depicted in FIG. 11,via one or more intermediary devices 1106.

The use of one or more intermediary devices may be advantageouslyemployed to increase the reliability of data transmission in the system1100. For example, data transmission in the system 1100 may be subjectto interruptions in wireless connectivity between devices. In addition,different amounts of battery power may be available in various devicesof the system 1100 at a given point in time. Accordingly, the system1100 may employ the intermediary devices 1106 as relay points, fortemporarily storing the sensor data for relay to another device (e.g., awireless device) at a later time, or for offloading one or moreprocessing operations.

Referring again to FIG. 12, as represented by block 1210, theintermediary device 1106 includes a transceiver 1114 for receiving datafrom the sensing device 1102. As represented by block 1212, theintermediary device 1106 may include a processor component 1116comprising, for example, a waveform processor 1118, for performing oneor more operations as discussed herein. In addition, the peripheraldevice 1106 may include a data memory 1120 for storing sensed data andother information. As represented by block 1214, the transceiver 1114transmits the sensed data to another device (e.g., the wireless device1104) via a wireless communication link.

As discussed herein, once the wireless device 1104 receives the raw orprocessed sensed data, the wireless device may process the data onbehalf of the sensing device 1102 or some other device (e.g., theperipheral device 1106). To this end, the wireless device 1104 alsoincludes a transceiver component 1122 for communicating with the sensingdevice 1102, the intermediary device 1106, or both. In addition, thewireless device 1104 includes one or more processor components 1124 forprocessing data and communicating with other devices (e.g., via a widearea network or some other communication link).

In some implementations the sensing device 1102 may comprise a digitalsignal processor or a microprocessor. Here, the sensing device also maycomprise an analog-to-digital converter for converting the sensed datato a digital form.

The teachings herein may be incorporated into a device employing variouscomponents for communicating with at least one other device. FIG. 13depicts several sample components that may be employed to facilitatecommunication between devices. Here, a first device (e.g., an accessterminal) 1302 and a second device (e.g., an access point) 1304 areadapted to communicate via a communication link 1306 over a suitablemedium.

Initially, components involved in sending information from the device1302 to the device 1304 (e.g., a reverse link) will be treated. Atransmit (“TX”) data processor 1308 receives traffic data (e.g., datapackets) from a data buffer 1310 or some other suitable component. Thetransmit data processor 1308 processes (e.g., encodes, interleaves, andsymbol maps) each data packet based on a selected coding and modulationscheme, and provides data symbols. In general, a data symbol is amodulation symbol for data, and a pilot symbol is a modulation symbolfor a pilot (which is known a priori). A modulator 1312 receives thedata symbols, pilot symbols, and possibly signaling for the reverselink, and performs modulation (e.g., OFDM or some other suitablemodulation) and/or other processing as specified by the system, andprovides a stream of output chips. A transmitter (“TMTR”) 1314 processes(e.g., converts to analog, filters, amplifies, and frequency upconverts)the output chip stream and generates a modulated signal, which is thentransmitted from an antenna 1316.

The modulated signals transmitted by the device 1302 (along with signalsfrom other devices in communication with the device 1304) are receivedby an antenna 1318 of the device 1304. A receiver (“RCVR”) 1320processes (e.g., conditions and digitizes) the received signal from theantenna 1318 and provides received samples. A demodulator (“DEMOD”) 1322processes (e.g., demodulates and detects) the received samples andprovides detected data symbols, which may be a noisy estimate of thedata symbols transmitted to the device 1304 by the other device(s). Areceive (“RX”) data processor 1324 processes (e.g., symbol demaps,deinterleaves, and decodes) the detected data symbols and providesdecoded data associated with each transmitting device (e.g., device1302).

Components involved in sending information from the device 1304 to thedevice 1302 (e.g., a forward link) will be now be treated. At the device1304, traffic data are processed by a transmit (“TX”) data processor1326 to generate data symbols. A modulator 1328 receives the datasymbols, pilot symbols, and signaling for the forward link, performsmodulation (e.g., OFDM or some other suitable modulation) and/or otherpertinent processing, and provides an output chip stream, which isfurther conditioned by a transmitter (“TMTR”) 1330 and transmitted fromthe antenna 1318. In some implementations signaling for the forward linkmay include power control commands and other information (e.g., relatingto a communication channel) generated by a controller 1332 for alldevices (e.g. terminals) transmitting on the reverse link to the device1304.

At the device 1302, the modulated signal transmitted by the device 1304is received by the antenna 1316, conditioned and digitized by a receiver(“RCVR”) 1334, and processed by a demodulator (“DEMOD”) 1336 to obtaindetected data symbols. A receive (“RX”) data processor 1338 processesthe detected data symbols and provides decoded data for the device 1302and the forward link signaling. A controller 1340 receives power controlcommands and other information to control data transmission and tocontrol transmit power on the reverse link to the device 1304.

The controllers 1340 and 1332 direct various operations of the device1302 and the device 1304, respectively. For example, a controller maydetermine an appropriate filter, reporting information about the filter,and decode information using a filter. Data memories 1342 and 1344 maystore program codes and data used by the controllers 1340 and 1332,respectively.

FIG. 13 also illustrates that the communication components may includeone or more components that perform ranging-related operations as taughtherein. For example, a ranging control component 1346 may cooperate withthe controller 1340 and/or other components of the device 1302 to sendand receive ranging-related signals and information to another device(e.g., device 1304). Similarly, a ranging control component 1348 maycooperate with the controller 1332 and/or other components of the device1304 to send and receive ranging-related signals and information toanother device (e.g., device 1302).

A device as taught herein may support or otherwise use various wirelesscommunication links and wireless network topologies. For example, insome aspects the devices 102 and 104 may comprise or form part of a bodyarea network or a personal area network (e.g., an ultra-widebandnetwork). In addition, in some aspects the devices 102 and 104 maycomprise or form part of a local area network or a wide area network.The devices 102 and 104 also may support or otherwise use one or more ofa variety of wireless communication protocols or standards including,for example, CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDM, OFDMA, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, and otherwireless technologies. Accordingly, the devices 102 and 104 may includeappropriate components to establish one or more communication linksusing various wireless technologies. For example, a device may comprisea wireless transceiver (e.g., a radio) with associated transmitter andreceiver components that include various components (e.g., signalgenerators and signal processors) that facilitate communication over awireless medium. These components may support a variety of wirelessphysical layer schemes. For example, the physical layer may utilize someform of CDMA, TDMA, OFDM, OFDMA, or other modulation and multiplexingschemes.

In some aspects a device may communicate via a pulsed-based physicallayer. For example, the physical layer may utilize ultra-wideband pulsesthat have a relatively short length (e.g., on the order of a fewnanoseconds) and a relatively wide bandwidth. In some aspects anultra-wideband system may be defined as a system having a fractionalbandwidth on the order of approximately 20% or more and/or having abandwidth on the order of approximately 500 MHz or more.

It should be appreciated that a device as taught herein may beimplemented in a variety of forms. For example, the teachings herein maybe incorporated into (e.g., implemented within or performed by) avariety of apparatuses (e.g., devices). For example, one or more aspectstaught herein may be incorporated into a phone (e.g., a cellular phone),a personal data assistant (“PDA”), an entertainment device (e.g., amusic or video device), a headset (e.g., headphones, an earpiece, etc.),a microphone, a medical device (e.g., a biometric sensor, a heart ratemonitor, a pedometer, an EKG device, etc.), a user I/O device (e.g., awatch, a remote control, a light switch, a keyboard, a mouse, etc.), atire pressure monitor, a computer, a point-of-sale device, anentertainment device, a hearing aid, a set-top box, or any othersuitable device.

These devices may have different power and data requirements. In someaspects, the teachings herein may be adapted for use in low powerapplications (e.g., through the use of a pulse-based signaling schemeand low duty cycle modes) and may support a variety of data ratesincluding relatively high data rates (e.g., through the use ofhigh-bandwidth pulses).

In some aspects a device may comprises an access device (e.g., a Wi-Fiaccess point) for a communication system. For example, a device mayprovide connectivity to another network (e.g., a wide area network suchas the Internet) via a wired or wireless communication link.Accordingly, a device may enable another device (e.g., a Wi-Fi station)to access the other network. In addition, it should be appreciated thatone or more of the devices discussed herein may be portable or, in somecases, relatively non-portable.

A device as taught herein may include various components that performfunctions based on data transmitted or received via wirelesscommunication. For example, a headset may include a transducer adaptedto provide an audible output based on data received via a receiver or awireless communication link. In addition, a headset may include atransducer (e.g., a microphone) adapted to generate sensed data to bepreprocessed for wireless communication. A watch may include a displayadapted to provide a visual output based on data received via a receiveror a wireless communication link. A watch also may include a transduceradapted to generate sensed data (e.g., relating to a biologicalcondition) to be preprocessed for wireless communication. A medicaldevice may include a sensor adapted to generate sensed data to betransmitted via a transmitter or a wireless communication link. Inaddition, a medical device may include a transducer adapted to generatean output (e.g., a warning signal) based on data received via a receiveror a wireless communication link.

The functional components described or taught herein may be implementedusing various structures. Referring to FIGS. 14A and 14B, systems 1400Aand 1400B are represented as a series of interrelated functional blocksthat may represent functions implemented by, for example, one or moreintegrated circuits (e.g., an ASIC) or may be implemented in some othermanner as taught herein. As discussed herein an integrated circuit mayinclude a processor, software, some combination thereof.

As shown in FIG. 14A, the system 1400A may comprises an apparatus 1402A(e.g., a peripheral device) and an apparatus 1404A (e.g., a wirelessdevice). The apparatus 1402A includes one or more modules 1406, 1408,1410A, 1414, 1416, 1418, and 1420 that may perform one or more of thefunctions described above with regard to various figures. For example,an ASIC for sensing 1406 may sense various conditions and may correspondto, for example, component 116 discussed above. An ASIC for transmitting1408 may provide various functionality relating to transmitting data toanother device as taught herein and may correspond to, for example,component 120 discussed above. An ASIC for receiving 1410A may providevarious functionality relating to receiving data from another device astaught herein and may correspond to, for example, component 132discussed above. An ASIC for directly passing 1414 may provide variousfunctionality relating to providing data to an output transducer astaught herein and may correspond to, for example, component 108 and/orcomponent 112 discussed above. An ASIC for preprocessing 1416 mayprovide various functionality relating to processing signals fortransmission as taught herein and may correspond to, for example,component 118 discussed above. An ASIC for waveform encoding 1418 mayprovide various functionality relating to generating waveform data astaught herein and may correspond to, for example, component 210discussed above. An ASIC for sigma delta modulating 1420 may providevarious functionality relating to generating sigma delta modulated dataas taught herein and may correspond to, for example, component 210discussed above.

The apparatus 1404A also includes one or more modules 1422A, 1424A,1432, 1434, 1436, 1438, 1440, and 1442 that may perform one or more ofthe functions described above with regard to various figures. Forexample, an ASIC for transmitting 1422A may provide variousfunctionality relating to transmitting data to another device as taughtherein and may correspond to, for example, component 130 discussedabove. An ASIC for receiving 1424A may provide various functionalityrelating to receiving data from another device as taught herein and maycorrespond to, for example, component 122 discussed above. An ASIC forwaveform encoding 1432 may provide various functionality relating togenerating waveform data as taught herein and may correspond to, forexample, component 512 discussed above. An ASIC for processing 1434 mayperform one or more processing operations as taught herein and maycorrespond to, for example, component 216 discussed above. An ASIC forequalizing 1436 may perform one or more equalization operations astaught herein and may correspond to, for example, component 218discussed above. An ASIC for echo canceling 1438 may perform one or moreecho cancellation operations as taught herein and may correspond to, forexample, component 234 discussed above. An ASIC for active noisecanceling 1440 may perform one or more active noise cancellationoperations as taught herein and may correspond to, for example,component 236 discussed above. An ASIC for filtering and decimating 1442may perform one or more filter and decimate operations as taught hereinand may correspond to, for example, component to 220 discussed above. AnASIC for side-tone generation 1444 may provide various functionalityrelating to generating side-tones as taught herein and may correspondto, for example, component 240 discussed above. An ASIC for filter tapgeneration 1446 may provide various functionality relating to generatingfilter taps as taught herein and may correspond to, for example,component 238 discussed above. An ASIC for biological processing 1448may provide various functionality relating to biological (e.g., medical)processing as taught herein and may correspond to, for example,component 242 and/or 1014 discussed above. An ASIC for voice command andrecognition 1450 may provide various functionality relating torecognizing voice and commands as taught herein and may correspond to,for example, component 244 discussed above.

As shown in FIG. 14B, the system 1400B may comprises an apparatus 1402B(e.g., a peripheral device) and an apparatus 1404B (e.g., a wirelessdevice). The apparatus 1402B includes one or more modules 1410B and 1412that may perform one or more of the functions described above withregard to various figures. For example, an ASIC for receiving 1410B mayprovide various functionality relating to receiving data from anotherdevice as taught herein and may correspond to, for example, component132 discussed above. An ASIC for processing 1412 may perform one or moreprocessing operations as taught herein and may correspond to, forexample, component 108 discussed above.

The apparatus 1404A also includes one or more modules 1422B, 1424B,1426, 1428, and 1430 that may perform one or more of the functionsdescribed above with regard to various figures. For example, an ASIC fortransmitting 1422B may provide various functionality relating totransmitting data to another device as taught herein and may correspondto, for example, component 130 discussed above. An ASIC for receiving1424B may provide various functionality relating to receiving data fromanother device as taught herein and may correspond to, for example,component 122 discussed above. An ASIC for generating 1426 may performone or more operations relating to generating waveform data as taughtherein and may correspond to, for example, component 508 discussedabove. An ASIC for decompressing 1428 may perform one or more operationsrelating to decompressing data as taught herein and may correspond to,for example, component 510 discussed above. An ASIC for processingreceived data 1430 may perform one or more processing operations astaught herein and may correspond to, for example, component 512discussed above.

As noted above, in some aspects these components may be implemented viaappropriate processor components. These processor components may in someaspects be implemented, at least in part, using structure as taughtherein. In some aspects a processor may be adapted to implement aportion or all of the functionality of one or more of these components.In some aspects one or more of the components represented by dashedboxes are optional.

In some aspects the apparatus 1402 and the apparatus 1404 may compriseone or more integrated circuits that provide the functionality of thecomponents illustrated in FIG. 14. For example, in some aspects a singleintegrated circuit may implement the functionality of the illustratedprocessor components, while in other aspects more than one processor mayimplement the functionality of the illustrated components, while inother aspects more than one integrated circuit may implement thefunctionality of the illustrated processor components.

In addition, the components and functions represented by FIG. 14, aswell as other components and functions described herein, may beimplemented using any suitable means. Such means also may beimplemented, at least in part, using corresponding structure as taughtherein. For example, in some aspects means for sensing may comprise atransducer, means for transmitting may comprise a transmitter, means forreceiving may comprise a receiver, means for processing may comprise aprocessor, means for directly passing may comprise a processor and/orreceiver, means for preprocessing may comprise a processor, means forwaveform encoding may comprise a waveform encoder, means for sigma deltamodulating may comprise a waveform encoder, means for generating maycomprise a processor, means for decompressing may comprise adecompressor, means for processing received data may comprise aprocessor, means for processing to extract may comprise a processor,means for equalizing may comprise an equalizer, means for echo cancelingmay comprise an echo canceller, means for active noise canceling maycomprise an active noise canceller, means for filtering and decimatingmay comprise a filter and decimator, means for side-tone generation maycomprise a side-tone processor, means for filter tap generation maycomprise a filter tap computation processor, and means for voicerecognition may comprise a voice command and recognition processor. Oneor more of such means also may be implemented in accordance with one ormore of the processor components of FIG. 14.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals(e.g., referred to herein as data) may be represented using any of avariety of different technologies and techniques. For example, analogdata, digital data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits,symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the abovedescription may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagneticwaves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or anycombination thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that any of the variousillustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, andalgorithm steps described in connection with the aspects disclosedherein may be implemented as electronic hardware (e.g., a digitalimplementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two,which may be designed using source coding or some other technique),various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions(which may be referred to herein, for convenience, as “software” or a“software module”), or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate thisinterchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrativecomponents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been describedabove generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such implementationdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present disclosure.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implementedwithin or performed by an integrated circuit (“IC”), an access terminal,or an access point. The IC may comprise a general purpose processor, adigital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integratedcircuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, electrical components, optical components,mechanical components, or any combination thereof designed to performthe functions described herein, and may execute codes or instructionsthat reside within the IC, outside of the IC, or both. A general purposeprocessor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processormay be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or statemachine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination ofcomputing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, aplurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunctionwith a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

It is understood that any specific order or hierarchy of steps in anydisclosed process is an example of a sample approach. Based upon designpreferences, it is understood that the specific order or hierarchy ofsteps in the processes may be rearranged while remaining within thescope of the present disclosure. The accompanying method claims presentelements of the various steps in a sample order, and are not meant to belimited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with theaspects disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module (e.g., including executable instructions and relateddata) and other data may reside in a data memory such as RAM memory,flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a harddisk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readablestorage medium known in the art. A sample storage medium may be coupledto a machine such as, for example, a computer/processor (which may bereferred to herein, for convenience, as a “processor”) such theprocessor can read information (e.g., code) from and write informationto the storage medium. A sample storage medium may be integral to theprocessor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC.The ASIC may reside in user equipment. In the alternative, the processorand the storage medium may reside as discrete components in userequipment. Moreover, in some aspects any suitable computer-programproduct may comprise a computer-readable medium comprising codes (e.g.,executable by at least one computer) relating to one or more of theaspects of the disclosure. In some aspects a computer program productmay comprise packaging materials.

The previous description of the disclosed aspects is provided to enableany person skilled in the art to make or use the present disclosure.Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may beapplied to other aspects without departing from the scope of thedisclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is not intended to be limitedto the aspects shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scopeconsistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

1. A method of processing data, comprising: generating waveform encodeddata at a first device; and transmitting the waveform encoded data to asecond device via a wireless communication link.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the waveform encoded data comprise sigma delta modulateddata.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the waveform encoded datacomprise pulse code modulated data.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe waveform encoded data represent multimedia, heart rate, temperature,pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe generation of the waveform encoded data further comprises:decompressing data; and waveform encoding the decompressed data.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the generation of the waveform encoded datafurther comprises: processing received data; and waveform encoding theprocessed data.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the processingcomprises at least one of the group consisting of: equalization, echocancellation, active noise cancellation, filter tap computation,side-tone processing, and voice recognition.
 8. The method of claim 6,wherein the received data were received from the second device.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the processing improves at least onecharacteristic represented by analog data generated by the seconddevice.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the processing improves atleast one attribute comprising at least one of the group consisting of:frequency response, signal-to-noise ratio, and accuracy.
 11. The methodof claim 9, wherein the at least one characteristic comprisesmultimedia, heart rate, temperature, pressure, velocity, oracceleration.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least onecharacteristic comprises an indication relating to multimedia, heartrate, temperature, pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 13. The methodof claim 9, wherein the processing comprises providing data having, ascompared to the analog data, less degradation of the at least onecharacteristic.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the degradationrelates to noise, interference, or noise and interference.
 15. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the waveform encoded data are transmitted viaa wireless personal area network air interface or a wireless body areanetwork air interface.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein the processeddata are transmitted via ultra-wideband pulses each of which has afractional bandwidth on the order of 20% or more, has a bandwidth on theorder of 500 MHz or more, or has a fractional bandwidth on the order of20% or more and has a bandwidth on the order of 500 MHz or more.
 17. Anapparatus for processing data, comprising: a waveform encoder adapted togenerate waveform encoded data; and a transmitter adapted to transmitthe waveform encoded data to a device via a wireless communication link.18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the waveform encoded datacomprise sigma delta modulated data.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein the waveform encoded data comprise pulse code modulated data.20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the waveform encoded datarepresent multimedia, heart rate, temperature, pressure, velocity, oracceleration.
 21. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising adecompressor adapted to decompress data, wherein the waveform encoder isfurther adapted to waveform encode the decompressed data to generate thewaveform encoded data.
 22. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprisinga receiver adapted to receive data and a processor adapted to processthe received data, wherein the waveform encoder is further adapted towaveform encode the processed data to generate the waveform encodeddata.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the processing comprises atleast one of the group consisting of: equalization, echo cancellation,active noise cancellation, filter tap computation, side-tone processing,and voice recognition.
 24. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein thereceiver receives the data from the device.
 25. The apparatus of claim24, wherein the processing improves at least one characteristicrepresented by analog data generated by the device.
 26. The apparatus ofclaim 25, wherein the processing improves at least one attributecomprising at least one of the group consisting of: frequency response,signal-to-noise ratio, and accuracy.
 27. The apparatus of claim 25,wherein the at least one characteristic comprises multimedia, heartrate, temperature, pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 28. Theapparatus of claim 25, wherein the at least one characteristic comprisesan indication relating to multimedia, heart rate, temperature, pressure,velocity, or acceleration.
 29. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein theprocessing comprises providing data having, as compared to the analogdata, less degradation of the at least one characteristic.
 30. Theapparatus of claim 29, wherein the degradation relates to noise,interference, or noise and interference.
 31. The apparatus of claim 17,wherein the waveform encoded data are transmitted via a wirelesspersonal area network air interface or a wireless body area network airinterface.
 32. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the waveform encodeddata are transmitted via ultra-wideband pulses each of which has afractional bandwidth on the order of 20% or more, has a bandwidth on theorder of 500 MHz or more, or has a fractional bandwidth on the order of20% or more and has a bandwidth on the order of 500 MHz or more.
 33. Anapparatus for processing data, comprising: means for generating waveformencoded data; and means for transmitting the waveform encoded data to adevice via a wireless communication link.
 34. The apparatus of claim 33,wherein the waveform encoded data comprise sigma delta modulated data.35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the waveform encoded datacomprise pulse code modulated data.
 36. The apparatus of claim 33,wherein the waveform encoded data represent multimedia, heart rate,temperature, pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 37. The apparatus ofclaim 33, further comprising means for decompressing data, wherein themeans for generating waveform encoded data waveform encodes thedecompressed data to generate the waveform encoded data.
 38. Theapparatus of claim 33, further comprising means for receiving data andmeans for processing the received data, wherein the means for generatingwaveform encoded data waveform encodes the processed data to generatethe waveform encoded data.
 39. The apparatus of claim 38, wherein themeans for processing performs at least one of the group consisting of:equalization, echo cancellation, active noise cancellation, filter tapcomputation, side-tone processing, and voice recognition.
 40. Theapparatus of claim 38, wherein the means for receiving receives the datafrom the device.
 41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein the means forprocessing data improves at least one characteristic represented byanalog data generated by the device.
 42. The apparatus of claim 41,wherein the processing improves at least one attribute comprising atleast one of the group consisting of: frequency response,signal-to-noise ratio, and accuracy.
 43. The apparatus of claim 41,wherein the at least one characteristic comprises multimedia, heartrate, temperature, pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 44. Theapparatus of claim 41, wherein the at least one characteristic comprisesan indication relating to multimedia, heart rate, temperature, pressure,velocity, or acceleration.
 45. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein themeans for processing provides data having, as compared to the analogdata, less degradation of the at least one characteristic.
 46. Theapparatus of claim 45, wherein the degradation relates to noise,interference, or noise and interference.
 47. The apparatus of claim 33,wherein the waveform encoded data are transmitted via a wirelesspersonal area network air interface or a wireless body area network airinterface.
 48. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the waveform encodeddata are transmitted via ultra-wideband pulses each of which has afractional bandwidth on the order of 20% or more, has a bandwidth on theorder of 500 MHz or more, or has a fractional bandwidth on the order of20% or more and has a bandwidth on the order of 500 MHz or more.
 49. Acomputer-program product for processing data, comprising:computer-readable medium comprising codes executable by at least onecomputer to: generate waveform encoded data at a first device; andtransmit the waveform encoded data to a second device via a wirelesscommunication link.
 50. A headset for processing data, comprising: awaveform encoder adapted to generate waveform encoded data; atransmitter adapted to transmit the waveform encoded data to a devicevia a wireless communication link; and a transducer adapted to providean audible output based on data received via the wireless communicationlink.
 51. A watch for processing data, comprising: a waveform encoderadapted to generate waveform encoded data; a transmitter adapted totransmit the waveform encoded data to a device via a wirelesscommunication link; and a display adapted to provide a visual outputbased on data received via the wireless communication link.
 52. Amedical device for processing data, comprising: a waveform encoderadapted to generate waveform encoded data; a transmitter adapted totransmit the waveform encoded data to a device via a wirelesscommunication link; and a sensor adapted to generate sensed data to betransmitted via the transmitter.
 53. A method of processing data,comprising: receiving waveform encoded data at a first device from asecond device via a wireless communication link; and processing thewaveform encoded data at the first device.
 54. The method of claim 53,wherein the waveform encoded data comprise sigma delta modulated data.55. The method of claim 53, wherein the waveform encoded data comprisepulse code modulated data.
 56. The method of claim 53, wherein thewaveform encoded data represent multimedia, heart rate, temperature,pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 57. The method of claim 53, whereinthe processing comprises directly passing the waveform encoded data to atransducer that generates an output based on the waveform encoded data.58. The method of claim 57, wherein the transducer comprises a chemicaltransducer, an electrical transducer, a mechanical transducer, amagnetic transducer, a nuclear transducer, or an optical transducer. 59.The method of claim 53, wherein the waveform encoded data comprise datathat were subjected to at least one of the group consisting of:equalization, echo cancellation, active noise cancellation, filter tapcomputation, side-tone processing, and voice recognition.
 60. The methodof claim 53, wherein the waveform encoded data are based on analog datagenerated at the first device.
 61. The method of claim 60, wherein, ascompared to the analog data, the waveform encoded data have lessdegradation of at least one characteristic represented by the analogdata.
 62. The method of claim 61, wherein the degradation relates tonoise, interference, or noise and interference.
 63. The method of claim53, wherein the waveform encoded data are based on data that wereprocessed to improve at least one characteristic represented by thedata.
 64. The method of claim 63, wherein the processing improves atleast one attribute comprising at least one of the group consisting of:frequency response, signal-to-noise ratio, and accuracy.
 65. The methodof claim 63, wherein the at least one characteristic comprisesmultimedia, heart rate, temperature, pressure, velocity, oracceleration.
 66. The method of claim 63, wherein the at least onecharacteristic comprises an indication relating to multimedia, heartrate, temperature, pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 67. The methodof claim 53, wherein the waveform encoded data are received via awireless personal area network air interface or a wireless body areanetwork air interface.
 68. The method of claim 53, wherein the waveformencoded data are received via ultra-wideband pulses each of which has afractional bandwidth on the order of 20% or more, has a bandwidth on theorder of 500 MHz or more, or has a fractional bandwidth on the order of20% or more and has a bandwidth on the order of 500 MHz or more.
 69. Anapparatus for processing data, comprising: a receiver adapted to receivewaveform encoded data from a device via a wireless communication link;and a processor adapted to process the waveform encoded data.
 70. Theapparatus of claim 69, wherein the waveform encoded data comprise sigmadelta modulated data.
 71. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein thewaveform encoded data comprise pulse code modulated data.
 72. Theapparatus of claim 69, wherein the waveform encoded data representmultimedia, heart rate, temperature, pressure, velocity, oracceleration.
 73. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the processor isfurther adapted to directly pass the waveform encoded data to atransducer that generates an output based on the waveform encoded data.74. The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the transducer comprises achemical transducer, an electrical transducer, a mechanical transducer,a magnetic transducer, a nuclear transducer, or an optical transducer.75. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the waveform encoded datacomprise data that were subjected to at least one of the groupconsisting of: equalization, echo cancellation, active noisecancellation, filter tap computation, side-tone processing, and voicerecognition.
 76. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the waveform encodeddata are based on analog data generated at the apparatus.
 77. Theapparatus of claim 76, wherein, as compared to the analog data, thewaveform encoded data have less degradation of at least onecharacteristic represented by the analog data.
 78. The apparatus ofclaim 77, wherein the degradation relates to noise, interference, ornoise and interference.
 79. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein thewaveform encoded data are based on data that were processed to improveat least one characteristic represented by the data.
 80. The apparatusof claim 79, wherein the processing improves at least one attributecomprising at least one of the group consisting of: frequency response,signal-to-noise ratio, and accuracy.
 81. The apparatus of claim 79,wherein the at least one characteristic comprises multimedia, heartrate, temperature, pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 82. Theapparatus of claim 79, wherein the at least one characteristic comprisesan indication relating to multimedia, heart rate, temperature, pressure,velocity, or acceleration.
 83. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein thewaveform encoded data are received via a wireless personal area networkair interface or a wireless body area network air interface.
 84. Theapparatus of claim 69, wherein the waveform encoded data are receivedvia ultra-wideband pulses each of which has a fractional bandwidth onthe order of 20% or more, has a bandwidth on the order of 500 MHz ormore, or has a fractional bandwidth on the order of 20% or more and hasa bandwidth on the order of 500 MHz or more.
 85. An apparatus forprocessing data, comprising: means for receiving waveform encoded datafrom a device via a wireless communication link; and means forprocessing the waveform encoded data.
 86. The apparatus of claim 85,wherein the waveform encoded data comprise sigma delta modulated data.87. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the waveform encoded datacomprise pulse code modulated data.
 88. The apparatus of claim 85,wherein the waveform encoded data represent multimedia, heart rate,temperature, pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 89. The apparatus ofclaim 85, wherein the means for processing directly passes the waveformencoded data to a transducer that generates an output based on thewaveform encoded data.
 90. The apparatus of claim 89, wherein thetransducer comprises a chemical transducer, an electrical transducer, amechanical transducer, a magnetic transducer, a nuclear transducer, oran optical transducer.
 91. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein thewaveform encoded data comprise data that were subjected to at least oneof the group consisting of: equalization, echo cancellation, activenoise cancellation, filter tap computation, side-tone processing, andvoice recognition.
 92. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the waveformencoded data are based on analog data generated at the apparatus. 93.The apparatus of claim 92, wherein, as compared to the analog data, thewaveform encoded data have less degradation of at least onecharacteristic represented by the analog data.
 94. The apparatus ofclaim 93, wherein the degradation relates to noise, interference, ornoise and interference.
 95. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein thewaveform encoded data are based on data that were processed to improveat least one characteristic represented by the data.
 96. The apparatusof claim 95, wherein the processing improves at least one attributecomprising at least one of the group consisting of: frequency response,signal-to-noise ratio, and accuracy.
 97. The apparatus of claim 95,wherein the at least one characteristic comprises multimedia, heartrate, temperature, pressure, velocity, or acceleration.
 98. Theapparatus of claim 95, wherein the at least one characteristic comprisesan indication relating to multimedia, heart rate, temperature, pressure,velocity, or acceleration.
 99. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein thewaveform encoded data are received via a wireless personal area networkair interface or a wireless body area network air interface.
 100. Theapparatus of claim 85, wherein the waveform encoded data are receivedvia ultra-wideband pulses each of which has a fractional bandwidth onthe order of 20% or more, has a bandwidth on the order of 500 MHz ormore, or has a fractional bandwidth on the order of 20% or more and hasa bandwidth on the order of 500 MHz or more.
 101. A computer-programproduct for processing data, comprising: computer-readable mediumcomprising codes executable by at least one computer to: receivewaveform encoded data at a first device from a second device via awireless communication link; and process the waveform encoded data atthe first device.
 102. A headset for processing data, comprising: areceiver adapted to receive waveform encoded data from a device via awireless communication link; a processor adapted to process the waveformencoded data; and a transducer adapted to provide an audible outputbased on the processed data.
 103. A watch for processing data,comprising: a receiver adapted to receive waveform encoded data from adevice via a wireless communication link; a processor adapted to processthe waveform encoded data; and a display adapted to provide a visualoutput based on the processed data.
 104. A medical device for processingdata, comprising: a receiver adapted to receive waveform encoded datafrom a device via a wireless communication link; a processor adapted toprocess the waveform encoded data; and a sensor adapted to generatesensed data to be transmitted via the wireless communication link.